Juno (2007, USA)

I absolutely get why there's something of a Juno backlash right now - it's awfully cute. Some critics have labeled it "overrated," but I think that reaction depends on the expectations you have in the first place. Juno is quirky, funny, and very sweet, but it's not much more than that, nor do I think it was meant to be. I found the language to be a bit disruptive at first - it's kind of like Brick-lite as far as teenage slang goes - but it was smoothed out a bit as the film got going. Ellen Page is outstanding, and J.K. Simmons and Allison Janney are hilarious as her dumbstruck parents. (Janney's character is kind of like a less trailer-trash version of her awesome Loretta from Drop Dead Gorgeous. I think I proclaimed my love of that movie just last week. And more people should let Simmons do comedy, so that he can put that whole neo-Nazi rapist thing in the past.) I even found myself not really hating Jennifer Garner. I wish there had been a bit more for Michael Cera to do than just react to people, but he's still a welcome presence in pretty much anything, as is Jason Bateman, who dials down the snark quite a bit after his first scene. After Juno and Thank You for Smoking, I'm certainly impressed by Jason Reitman. He picks interesting material, casts well, and gets good performances out of his actors. He also has fun taste in music - I've been trying to get Juno's theme song out of my head since last night, without success.